Mark Curtis

Oxford

Director at Declassified UK

Co-Director @DeclassifiedUK. Analyst of UK foreign policy. Please join us — https://t.co/f91OPVmZr9

Articles

Blair and Major reassured Russia about Nato expansion

3 weeks ago | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

Two British prime ministers recognised Moscow’s fears over Nato expanding in eastern Europe – a major cause of the Ukraine war – files show. Vladimir Putin and Tony Blair have an aperitif in a beer garden in Moscow, November 2000. (Photo: LaPresse / Alamy)Declassified British files shed further light on the controversial question as to what assurances were made to Russia by UK officials about the expansion of Nato into eastern Europe.
Syrian dictator ‘always welcome here’, Tony Blair said

1 month ago | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

Declassified files shed further light on how the UK government courted Bashar Al-Assad at the beginning of his rule, before trying to overthrow him The Blairs greet the Assads at Downing Street in 2002. (Photo: Ammar Abd Rabbo / Alamy)Syrian ruler Bashar Al-Assad “would always be very welcome here”, Tony Blair told an Arab monarch in July 2000, declassified files show.
Two British PMs reassured Russia about Nato expansion, files show

1 month ago | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

British declassified files shed further light on the controversial question as to what assurances were made to Russia by UK officials about the expansion of Nato. The files show John Major, Britain’s prime minister from 1990-97, telling Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov in February 1997 that “if he were Russian he too would be concerned by the possibility that Nato might move up to Russia’s borders”.
The Empire never died

1 month ago | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

The British Empire is still with us, in the UK’s island outposts and military bases, in the plunder of other countries’ resources, and in UK officials’ imperial mindset. A British soldier kicks anti-colonial demonstrators in Yemen, 1967. Keir Starmer bombed the country last month. (Photo: AP / Alamy)There’s long been a debate over whether Britain’s Empire – the largest the world has ever known – was a good or bad thing. There’s another question though – did it really end?
UK leaders have betrayed those who fought in WW2

1 month ago | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

Amid the 80th anniversary of VE day, we reflect on how British governments have failed to uphold the principles men and women defended during 1939-45. Veterans watch VE day commemorations from Buckingham Palace. (Photo: Rob Kane / MoD)We Britons can rightly be proud of helping to win the Second World War 80 years ago. Soviet and American power mainly proved decisive in defeating the evils of Nazi Germany and fascist Japan.
‘Use trade talks with Israel as leverage’, government urged

1 month ago | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

The British government is being urged to halt its trade negotiations with Israel as it continues to bombard and blockade Gaza. Chris Law MP, the Scottish National Party’s spokesman on international trade, has accused Labour of acting “as if it is business as usual” after it sent a UK trade envoy to Israel. Keir Starmer’s trade commissioner for Europe, Chris Barton, visited Tel Aviv and Jerusalem between 24-27 March “to discuss a range of trade matters”, the government has said.
Birds of a feather - the Royal and Israeli Air Forces

2 months ago | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

Explainer: The RAF has a secretive but special relationship with its Israeli counterpart which has been devastating Gaza. Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston visits Israel as a guest of its air force commander Amikam Norkin in March 2021. (Photo: RAF)On 4 March a giant US B-52 bomber took off from the US air force base at Fairford in Gloucestershire to fly alongside Israeli F-35 and F-16 warplanes over the eastern Mediterranean.
Britain is aiding Israel’s nuclear force

Mar 26, 2025 | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

UK companies have sold £9m worth of technology for Israel’s submarines, which are believed to house nuclear weapons. An Israeli Dolphin class submarine in Haifa. (Photo: Amir Cohen / Alamy)When the government recently published its arms exports data for the period July to September last year, one item caught the eye: a licence to sell Israel £7.1m worth of “technology for submarines”. Israel’s submarines are believed to house nuclear arms.
UK prioritises Ukraine’s critical minerals with 100-year partnership agreement and meetings with large corporations

Mar 14, 2025 | expose-news.com | Rhoda Wilson |Mark Curtis

Breaking News It’s not just Trump. The UK views critical minerals as a government priority and wants to open up Ukraine’s vast resources to British corporations, Mark Curtis writes. Ukraine has significant deposits of minerals such as beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, and rare earth metals, which are crucial for industries like military production, high-tech and green energy.
Britain wants Ukraine’s minerals too

Mar 11, 2025 | declassifieduk.org | Mark Curtis

It’s not just Trump. The UK views critical minerals as a government priority and wants to open up Ukraine’s vast resources to British corporations. A titanium ore quarry in Ukraine. (Photo: Yuliia Burlachenko / Alamy)When UK officials signed a 100 year partnership with Ukraine in mid-January, they claimed to be Ukraine’s “preferred partner” in developing the country’s “critical minerals strategy”.